But when Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner has bad days, he gets texts messages from his famous friends.

Gardner threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in Michigan's narrow 28-24 win over Akron on Saturday. And shortly thereafter, he received some words of encouragement from a few high-level peers.

“(Texas A&M quarterback) Johnny Manziel texted me, (Clemson quarterback) Tajh Boyd, I got a chance to talk to those guys,” Gardner said. "It's really cool that they're friends like that. When you have a good game, they texted me after Notre Dame, and when you have a game like that.

"They told me to keep my head up, and keep moving forward."

Gardner got to know both Manziel and Boyd on the camp circuit this past summer, and has developed a bond with each that has led to a two-way street of mutual support.

As far as Gardner's on-field hiccups are concerned, the quarterback said he immediately watched film of the Akron game -- by himself -- when it ended Saturday afternoon.

He continues to insist he's learning from each mistake, and says no one mistake has been a repeated error that he's already made. For example, on the interception he threw that was returned for a touchdown, Gardner said the offense misread Akron's coverage -- and by the time he realized what it was, he'd already attempted to throw a screen pass at Fitz Toussaint.

Obviously, it didn't work out.

"I threw a ball where (Jeremy) Gallon didn't quite get as open as I thought he would, and then to (Devin) Funchess, he dropped it or it bounced off his chest or whatever," Gardner said. "At least I'm not falling back into (the same mistakes over and over).

"But they're still passes I can make."

Gardner says this week has been incredibly long, and it's only Wednesday.

Asked how excited he is to return to the field Saturday at Connecticut, Gardner smiled and responded immediately.